City Matters – Bolton Hill

The Bolton Hill Bulletin

City Matters

Ending zoning restrictions can mean more housing options in Bolton Hill

There’s been much discussion in the BHCA about the Housing Options and Opportunities Act (SB 25-0066), under consideration by the city council. The bill would effectively end single-family zoning across Baltimore, allowing duplexes and other multi-family homes everywhere in Baltimore. While the full impact of this change is still unknown, I believe the bill would help address the significant quality-housing shortage we have in Baltimore by removing restrictions that have prevented densification and construction of new housing in the places where people want to live.

Despite BHCA opposition, city council passes zoning changes

The City Council has passed four of the five housing bills on this year’s agenda, and the fifth is likely to pass this week or next. One of these bills doesn’t affect us, two are good, and two are likely to cause trouble in the coming years.

BHCA names working group to sort out State Center developments

BHCA President Lee Tawney named Beth Brenner, Jeff Thompson, Charlie Duff, Davin Hong and Sallye Perrin to a neighborhood State Center Working Group to keep tabs on the sometimes confusing and conflicting plans for the soon-empty campus of public buildings just south of Bolton Hill.

BHCA re-affirms opposition to council housing bill that Blanchard favors

The City Council is considering a package of five bills related to zoning for housing. The Land Use Committee of the BHCA has studied them pretty deeply, and the association board adopted a resolution that has been sent to the Baltimore City Planning Commission and our elected officials.

Druid Lake perimeter is open, but completion of the project is years away

Let’s say you were a young Bolton Hill couple expecting a baby when plans to reconstruct Druid Lake first came into view. By now, if all went to plan, your child could be about to finish college.

Zoning bills could affect parking and rowhouse development in Bolton Hill

A set of five city council zoning bills was introduced this spring as the Housing Options and Opportunity Act. City agencies are studying them before sharing their recommendations with city council, which will then hold public hearings this fall. City council would have to vote on the bills by the end of the year to prevent them from expiring with this year’s legislative session.

With $2 million spent for new system, city building permits are still slow

The city’s long-awaited, streamlined e-permitting system, kicked off in February to make it easier and faster for homeowners and builders to get construction permits, is a flop, a survey by the Baltimore Banner illustrated this month. In Bolton Hill, the number of permits issued during the first half of 2025 plunged by more than 100 percent over last year.

Midtown restoration process nears end with leadership departures

The city’s Board of Estimates will meet and presumably approve the reinstatement of Midtown Community Business District on Tuesday, June 20, the last step in rectifying a screwup by the city council last year that cast a legal cloud over the special district’s legitimacy.

Unofficial ballot count shows Midtown improvement district will survive

Voters in Bolton Hill and three other neighborhoods making up Midtown, the special tax district, have voted by more than a two-to-one margin to keep the community service district operating. While the final vote is expected to be released and certified by the city comptroller’s office on April 18, Midtown officials shared unofficial results.

Will Midtown Benefits District survive? Only if you vote YES by March 26

For nearly 30 years, Midtown Community Benefits District has kept Bolton Hill and three other nearby neighborhoods cleaner, greener, and safer, supplementing city government services. But unless property owners in those locales vote Yes before March 27 to re-certify Midtown, those services will disappear.